


Indelicate

by Aurumite



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Awkward In-Law Bonding, Awkward Sexual Situations, Cultural Differences, F/M, Romantic Comedy, awkward everything
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-11
Updated: 2018-04-11
Packaged: 2019-04-21 16:27:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,152
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14288868
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aurumite/pseuds/Aurumite
Summary: No country lines or ancient customs can keep them from their deep understanding of each other.Or so Marx thinks.





	Indelicate

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Dameceles](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dameceles/gifts).



> Pre-localization name spellings whaaaaaaaat.

Summer in Hoshido is unbearable: not just because of the humidity and heat in the air, or the heavy layers of Marx's formalwear, but also because of the way his fiancée eyes him when he arrives with Camilla. His visit is equal parts courtship and politics. With Leon still needed in Nohr, Camilla will handle the latter while Marx enjoys the former.

And does he enjoy it.

He's been from Hinoka too long, and peace has done nothing to quench the burning in her heart. He can bear the first night of rest alone in the guest quarters, and the next morning stuffed with meetings with his future brothers-in-law, but the time drags.

When he's finally with her, catching up at the low table in the privacy of her rooms, he is complete. No country lines or ancient customs can keep them from their deep understanding of each other. One moment they're simply talking, and the next they're tangled in a kiss without Marx even knowing who started it. The language their lips trade must be universal, because though they've never lain together, Marx knows this time -- _this very time_ \-- it's inevitable.

He catches Hinoka's jaw, tiny in his large hand, and kisses down her neck until he has to tug the collar of her robe away to make more room. Her breathlessness only urges him on.

"Marx." Her groan is a hot breath against his hair. "Go bathe. Hurry."

She's pulling the front of her robe open, and that distracts him so much he barely hears her. He's finally able to tear his head back up to look at her.

"What?"

"Please. Use my bath."

He lets her go, and the hunger in her eyes fades to match his own confusion.

"But I bathed this morning," he says. "Right before I came to see you."

Had he forgotten something? He lifts up the neck of his own shirt to sniff, racing heart stumbling in its tracks. Does he smell bad?

Hinoka is bright red.

"Never mind, then," she insists. "I'm sorry. I just assumed..."

"Assumed...I don't bathe?"

"No!" She's clutching her robe shut now, and Marx's heart sinks. "I just didn't mean to push you. It's fine if you aren't ready."

_"What?"_

But his incredulousness only brings resolve to her face. She leans forward and presses a chaste kiss to his burning cheek.

"Let's not think about it for a while. Don't worry. We'll have our whole lives."

Marx is more confused than he's ever been, but he doesn't speak, in case this time he's the one to push. The warmth coursing through him changes from wanting to the uncomfortable itch of anxiety. He and Hinoka return to tea and small talk, but he can't take his mind off what he might have done wrong.

***

When Marx is admitted to Ryouma's rooms, he doesn't waste any time. Ryouma looks up from writing at his low table, and Marx pulls a small glass bottle out of his breast pocket, setting it down on the polished wood.

"Does this scent offend you?"

He knows that taste and texture do not often cross borders. While Nohrians put cinnamon in every dish they can, Marx has never met a Hoshidan who can stand even the smell. Hoshidans eat rice porridge and bean curd daily, but can not manage a single bowl of oatmeal.

He trusts that Ryouma will tell him if lavender is too foreign; too plain or too strong. Ryouma is honest, and over the past months they have become reliable allies. Perhaps even friends.

Ryouma pulls the stopper from the bottle and gives it a curious sniff.

"Offend me? Of course not. Everyone enjoys lavender."

Marx feels his face fall, and Ryouma meets his eyes.

"Why?"

"I usually wear rosewater, but yesterday I wore this." It's so embarrassing his chest hurts, and he can feel the easy flush that Hinoka often teases him for, but he forces it out. "And Hinoka asked me to wash. But I'd bathed just that morning. I thought I'd somehow offended..."

He trails off as Ryouma buries his face in his hands.

"Ryouma?"

"I'm not dealing with this." He speaks through his palms. "I refuse. Kagerou?"

The ninja drops down from the ceiling with only the lightest sound, and Marx jolts.

"You explain," Ryouma commands, face still hidden.

She leaves the room without a word and Marx follows, baffled and compelled. She shuts the screen door behind them and leads them down the entire hallway before she explains the boldest, most upfront Hoshidan proposition for lovemaking.

" _Oh._ "

***

It's only chance that Hinoka has just finished washing and dressing when Marx comes to visit that night.

"I thought you would have business to take care of," she says.

"It finished early, and I couldn't wait to see you." He colours, but she sees his eyes follow the curve of her cheek. She wonders if she's still red from the bath. "If that's all right?"

"That's more than all right."

It's a relief to her after being rejected that morning; and twice over when he closes the distance between them.

The way Marx kisses is specific to him: his lips are gentle, but his hands clutch and his body presses so desperately close that it's as if he's never been touched in his life. The fire it kindles in Hinoka is always immediate, but this time she tries to smother it. He isn't ready for more. This is enough.

And then he breathes into her ear, "May I use your bath?"

Hinoka can't give her permission fast enough. Everything should be ready. The water from the springs is always hot, and she'd dismissed her retainers for the night. She only hopes she wasn't _too_ eager as she unrolls her futon and tries to arrange herself across it in a position that's alluring. Marx is a king and she is a princess. It won't do for her to come across as anything but dignified and soft. It's what he expects and what's expected of her.

He returns quickly, pale skin flushed and hair damp, wearing only his breeches, and Hinoka has to press her knees together. When he lies beside her and kisses her, it takes all her restraint not to let her hands explore his chest and back.

_Soft_ , she tells herself. _Pliable_. He needs to see how relaxed she is, how open to his advances. She needs to let him know that he can take and take and _take_. With some effort, she goes boneless, gripping the sheets instead of his shoulders. She tries to still even her lips, so he can kiss deeper.

Marx pulls away. The furrow between his eyebrows is more pronounced than usual.

"Is something the matter?"

"No," she insists. _Please don't stop_.

His next kiss is tentative. She yearns for the earlier passion, but doesn't speak up. Maybe he's just getting shy. Besides, his mouth is moving lower, and his hand slips beneath the folds of her robe--

Hinoka bucks at the slightest touch, but bites back her moan. Making noise isn't _dignified_. The walls are made of _paper_. She wills her breath even and her muscles loose. _Be a noble lady for once, Hinoka._

Marx pulls away again. Now distress lines his mouth, too.

"Please forgive me," is all he says before he rolls off her mattress and grabs for his shirt.

"What?" She jolts upright, not bothering to cover where her robe falls open.

"I should have understood, earlier," he insists. He paces as he re-dresses. " _You_ are the one who isn't ready; that's why you told _me_ it was all right to wait. I'm afraid I still have much to learn about the Hoshidan value of subtlety."

_What?!_

"Marx, that's not-!"

"I refuse to compromise on this." His voice is calm but his hands shake as he fastens his shirt to the very highest button. "We will do it together, or not at all. I am so sorry for anything I may have done to make you think otherwise."

"Marx-"

He's gone before she can even formulate a sentence, sliding the door shut quietly behind him. Heart still racing, skin tingling and numb, Hinoka looks down at herself.

What had gone wrong?

***

The next morning, she stands outside of the guest wing and fidgets. It's uncomfortable to even think about asking Marx's _sister_ for advice, but Marx's parting words made Hinoka think there might be a cultural difference at play. She doesn't have any Nohrian friends to ask, and Camilla wields her beauty like a weapon. She must have enough experience to solve the problem.

"Lady Camilla?" she calls.

"Sister dearest! Do come in."

Hinoka's already blushing when she slides the door open. Camilla has already started calling her that, when she and Marx still have at least a year of their engagement to go. Camilla herself is sitting by the open window in a patch of sunlight, like a cat. Hinoka sits stiffly when she's close enough and folds her hands over her knees.

"I have an...indelicate question," she manages. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to."

"I doubt there is anything that can phase me, these days."

Camilla's unflinching gaze meets hers and Hinoka looks down. It takes her a long moment to gather the words.

"Is coupling different in Nohr?" she finally blurts. "I tried last night but Marx got upset and left."

Camilla's usual lazy smile slips from her face. "What happened?"

"I don't know! I thought everything was going well. I was even doing a good job of lying still. Did I make a noise after all?" Humiliated, she puts her face in her hands. "I know that isn't ladylike."

"Hinoka."

Camilla sounds so startled that Hinoka lets her pull her hands away from her face.

"You did not respond to him?"

"I wanted to do it properly," Hinoka answers, a little defensive. "If a woman couples with a man, she should let him have his way. It shows love and trust and...and femininity."

And whatever else her old tutors had said. Camilla raises her eyebrows and stretches out languidly in her panel of sunlight.

"Is that _so_. I admit, my dalliances here have been with other women, so that...particular nuance has not arisen." She laughs at her own joke. There is no mirth in it. "Did you not consider, dear, that simply lying there will make him worry that you are only acting on his desires, and not your own?"

"No, I was clear!" Hinoka insists. "You know about the baths, don't you? I told him to use mine. I told him I'd be happy if he did!"

"Words mean very little in Nohr." Camilla's painted smile stays exactly the same shape, but Hinoka thinks she sees a flicker of grief through her eyes. It's gone before she can be sure. "I'm afraid you will have to show him."

"Show him," Hinoka repeats. She wishes her hair were longer so she'd have something to toy with; to do with her hands. The thought of letting loose is appealing. Maybe even more than it should be.

"If that's the case...I'll do my best."

"That's a good girl."

***

That night, Marx appears in her doorway in the mask of a face he always wore before they became close: stern and impassive, though there is still love in his eyes, and his voice is friendly and collected.

"Princess Hinoka. I thought this evening we might take a stroll-"

Hinoka stands from the table where she was writing, cutting him off.

"I want to make love with you," she says. And in case they say it differently in Nohr, she recites everything she knows: "To do. To lay. To sleep. To couple. To _fuck_."

Marx turns scarlet, but she presses on. She always has liked his vibrant blushes.

"I need to know if you feel the same way."

After a moment of stuttering, he manages, " _Absolutely_."

Hinoka smiles.

"I talked to Camilla-"

"Camilla?!"

"-Because you were so distressed the other night. I didn't realize giving you that much control was distasteful, in Nohr. It's the opposite, here. I thought, since you'd figured out the baths, you'd know how I felt for sure."

"Well," Marx mutters, suddenly quite interested in the floor. "I only figured it out because I asked Ryouma."

"Ryouma?!"

"Because _you_ were so distressed. I thought...maybe you didn't like my new perfume."

They glance at each other and Hinoka's laughing before she can stop herself. Marx follows suit.

"Maybe we should just talk it through, next time," she says, "instead of tripping over ourselves apologizing and guessing."

She closes the space between them and he smiles down at her as his large hands circle her waist. "That does sound like a more reasonable plan."

Hinoka pulls him into a kiss.

They do not go on his proposed stroll.


End file.
